A review by tsuyoi
Heir to Thorn and Flame by Ben Alderson

adventurous dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

I wanted to like this book a lot more than I did. It's an interesting world and magic system that isn't fully explored. The main character Max doesn't seem to actually affect the plot but has the plot happen upon him. His agency is teased at but never a thing. Honestly what annoys me most is how some of the deaths were just there to shock and not allow Max to ever have closure. Additionally the betrayals felt unearned when there was potential for so much more. I get that the main characters need to have motivation to grow but this was almost all telling and not showing.  Max was defined by others not his own actions.

I'm going to read the sequel because I'm still interested but I'm saddened by what could have been.

the betrayals by Camron and Bea felt like such a waste. Camron was the only character to seemingly care about Max's actual wishes and had the potential for an interesting love triangle or for Max to actually decide what he wants. But instead we got a dissapointing, flat, mustache twirling villain. Additionally the muguffin of his parents never paid off and how his father was killed off was even more disappointing. Dame's death was also so poorly handled. Suddenly miracously alive and then dead at the end of the chapter.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings